FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2009
Release #09-115
CPSC Grants One Year Stay of
Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products
WASHINGTON,
D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to
issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification
requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including
products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are
part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added
certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC
standards or bans.
Significant to
makers of children’s products, the vote by the Commission provides limited
relief from the testing and certification requirements which go into effect on
February 10, 2009 for new total lead content limits (600 ppm), phthalates limits
for certain products (1000 ppm), and mandatory toy standards, among other
things. Manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children’s products
will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to
meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other
requirements.
The decision by
the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which
could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more
guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.
The stay will
remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will
be taken to terminate the stay.
The stay does
not apply to:
-
Four
requirements for third-party testing and certification of certain children’s
products subject to:
-
Certification
requirements applicable to ATV’s manufactured after April 13, 2009.
-
Pre-CPSIA
testing and certification requirements, including for: automatic residential
garage door openers, bike helmets, candles with metal core wicks,
lawnmowers, lighters, mattresses, and swimming pool slides; and
-
Pool drain
cover requirements of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act.
The stay of
enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s
garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and
certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue
certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are
issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited
to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses,
must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and
similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.
Handmade
garment makers are cautioned to know whether the zippers, buttons and other
fasteners they are using contain lead. Likewise, handmade toy manufacturers need
to know whether their products, if using plastic or soft flexible vinyl, contain
phthalates.
The stay of
enforcement on testing and certification does not address thrift and second hand
stores and small retailers because they are not required to test and certify
products under the CPSIA. The products they sell, including those in inventory
on February 10, 2009, must not contain more than 600 ppm lead in any accessible
part. The Commission is aware that it is difficult to know whether a product
meets the lead standard without testing and has issued guidance for these
companies that can be found on our
web site.
The Commission
trusts that State Attorneys General will respect the Commission's judgment that
it is necessary to stay certain testing and certification requirements and will
focus their own enforcement efforts on other provisions of the law, e.g. the
sale of recalled products.
Please visit
the CPSC Web site at
www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html for more information on all of the
efforts being made to successfully implement the CPSIA.
